The samurai were fearless warrior, who became powerful in Japan around the 1200s. The samurai, which means "those who serve," were hired by lords to fight their wars and protect their land. The samurai were expert fighters; they were skilled with the sword and bow and arrow, and they were superior horsemen. They were athletic and strong, and they developed their fighting skills into what is the basis of modern martial arts. The samurai had a code of honor called Bushido, which meant "Way of the Warrior." The samurai had to have unquestionable loyalty to the emperor and their lord (the daimyo). They were trustworthy, honest, kind and generous to the poor. They led feudal lives and had no interest in riches or jewels. They were only interested in honor and pride. Additionally, they had to be men of noble spirit who were not afraid of death, because death in battle only meant honor to their lord and family. If samurai lost a battle or a fight, they would have to commit seppuku rather than face dishonor. The samurai developed a special way of dressing. They wore their hair tied back in a top-knot, and their brow and crown were shaved. Samurai wore simple clothes when they were not fighting. However, when they were fighting, they wore armor that was made from leather or iron strips, so it was completely flexible. Their most important weapon and sign of their class was a pair of matching swords. Only samurai had the right to carry swords. They believed that swords had special powers. The people who made swords were master craftsmen, and to this day, people can tell who created the sword of a samurai by the way the blaze was making. The woman of the samurai followed the same code of ethics as the men did. Since the privileges and rights of the samurai were passed down from father to son, it was important for a wife to have a male child. Sometimes, a samurai took another wife if the first wife did not give birth to a son. Samurai women were trained fighters like their...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...trained soldiers for protection. These soldiers were called knights in Europe. In Japan, they were known as samurai. In addition, both Europe and Japan had strong military leaders. As you recall, these military leaders were known as shoguns in Japan.
Similar Values In the feudal systems of both Japan and Europe, personal loyalty was greatly valued. The military skills of both knights and samurai were also highly valued. As you read in Lesson 2, knights were...

...The Japanese warrior, known as the samurai, has played a significant role in Japan's history and culture throughout the centuries. Their ancestors can be traced back to as far as can be remembered. Some stories have become mysterious legends handed down over the centuries. In this report you will learn who the samurai were, their origins as we know them, how they lived and fought and their evolution to today. It will be clear why the samurai...

...context.
The samurai were people who go for wars, or soldiers that are not afraid, who became powerful in Japan around the 1200s. The samurai, which means “those who serve,” were hired by lords to fight their wars and protect their land. The samurai were expert fighters; they were skilled with the sword and bow and arrow, and they were superior horsemen. They were athletic and strong, and they developed their fighting skills into what is the basis...

...
Samurai today enjoy widespread popularity due to their depiction in western media as katana wielding warriors with a strict code of honor, comparable to the knights of arthurian legends. In reality, these two were not so different, as each upheld a similar code of conduct and chivalry. The Japanese variant, the samurai, followed a code of honor named Bushido, literally “The Way of the Warrior”.
When the Chinese visited Japan in the early 5th century...

...Masculinity/ Femininity Dimension in the Last Samurai
According to Hofstede, Masculinity/ Femininity dimension explains
Masculinity:
The way the samurais in the movie were portrait are in fact extremely accurate to those that existed in the 18th century. From as young as seven or eight years of age, boys we turned from kids into killing samurais. In one of the scene’s of the movie, we see two young boys learning to fight with wooden sticks....

...The Samurai and the Bakumatsu Era
Eric Lemaire
12/09/05
English Comp I
Mrs. Halperin
The Bakumatsu Era was a crucial period of Japanese history at the end of the Tokugawa Era or Edo Period. It was a period of war and anarchy that was brought about by the introduction of western culture and constant battles between the imperialists and the loyalists. During this time and throughout history, the...

...The Seven Virtues of Bushido
The Way of the Samurai
Bushido was developed between the tenth to fourteenth centuries in Japan and spread through the warrior class. It was a code of conduct that during the time was unwritten passed down from generation to the next. The Bushido code has seven main virtues whose roots come from “Confucius” and “Zen Buddhism.” These seven virtues are known as Gi, Yu, Jin, Rei, Makoto, Meiyo, and Chugi. In Inazo Nitobe’s book “Bushido: The Soul...

...Yamamoto, Tsunetomo
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai
Garden City Park, NY
2002
After reading this book it is my belief that it is important for Westerners to understand the seemingly strange concepts of Bushido, not only as a guide to events of the past, but as a primer for understanding the Japanese business mentality of today. The first thought that comes to mind when Japanese work ethic is hard working, no breaks, complete commitment to ones job. There may be a reason...

Study Tools

Company

Follow

{"hostname":"studymode.com","essaysImgCdnUrl":"\/\/images-study.netdna-ssl.com\/pi\/","useDefaultThumbs":true,"defaultThumbImgs":["\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_1.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_2.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_3.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_4.png","\/\/stm-study.netdna-ssl.com\/stm\/images\/placeholders\/default_paper_5.png"],"thumb_default_size":"160x220","thumb_ac_size":"80x110","isPayOrJoin":false,"essayUpload":false,"site_id":1,"autoComplete":false,"isPremiumCountry":false,"userCountryCode":"US","logPixelPath":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","tracking_url":"\/\/www.smhpix.com\/pixel.gif","cookies":{"unlimitedBanner":"off"},"essay":{"essayId":37688506,"categoryName":"Fiction","categoryParentId":"17","currentPage":1,"format":"text","pageMeta":{"text":{"startPage":1,"endPage":3,"pageRange":"1-3","totalPages":3}},"access":"premium","title":"The Life of Samurai","additionalIds":[6,86,3,9],"additional":["Cultural and Ethnic Studies","Cultural and Ethnic Studies\/Royalty","Business \u0026 Economy","Entertainment"],"loadedPages":{"html":[],"text":[1,2,3]}},"user":null,"canonicalUrl":"http:\/\/www.studymode.com\/essays\/The-Life-Of-Samurai-1635054.html","pagesPerLoad":50,"userType":"member_guest","ct":10,"ndocs":"1,500,000","pdocs":"6,000","cc":"10_PERCENT_1MO_AND_6MO","signUpUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/","joinUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/join","payPlanUrl":"\/checkout\/pay","upgradeUrl":"\/checkout\/upgrade","freeTrialUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fcheckout%2Fpay%2Ffree-trial\u0026bypassPaymentPage=1","showModal":"get-access","showModalUrl":"https:\/\/www.studymode.com\/signup\/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studymode.com%2Fjoin","joinFreeUrl":"\/essays\/?newuser=1","siteId":1,"facebook":{"clientId":"306058689489023","version":"v2.8","language":"en_US"},"analytics":{"googleId":"UA-32718321-1"}}